Placing a child for adoption is one of the most severe orders a Court can make within Care Proceedings. Adoption permanently extinguishes the birth parents rights and severs a child’s ties with their birth family. It has always been the case that when children were placed for adoption, contact with their birth family would cease, save for in exceptional circumstances. Birth families would be offered infrequent letterbox contact with no guarantee of a response.
However, research has shown that in some situations there are longstanding benefits to children who have been adopted having ongoing contact with their birth families as long as it is safe to do so. When the Court makes a Placement Order Section 26 Adoption & Children Act 2002 permits the Court to make an order requiring the person a child lives or is to live with to allow contact with another person. Whilst these orders cannot bind potential adopters it does set the tone for what the Court believes should happen once an adoption order is made. The Court also has the power to make a contact order once an adoption order is made, but only in exceptional circumstances.
Recent case law shows that the Court will no longer accept that letterbox contact with their birth family is the right plan for every child placed for adoption. The Courts appear to be moving towards conducting a meaningful welfare analysis as to the suitability of face-to-face post adoption contact, rather than using a one size fits all approach.
If you require any further assistance in respect of any adoption matter or are involved within care proceedings and require further legal advice, then please contact a member of our dedicated team who will be happy to assist.
